Wagon Train on the Weiser River Trail Over Memorial Day
Forty equestrians participated in the Friends of the Weiser River Trail’s (FWRT) Annual Wagon Train Ride from Weiser to Council over Memorial Day. FWRT Secretary Pam Haynes, who has organized the ride since 2016, said the trail ride is a bargain and great fun for those who participate. It costs $200 per person and half that for those 17 and under.
“We are trying to encourage younger people to take part, for many of us who have been doing this for years are getting older now,” Haynes said.
This year there were three wagons. Two of the wagons carried three people and one wagon one person; the other participants all rode horses. This year a participant flew in from Virginia, another from New York, and a large group of people from the Portland area came for the event.
“We’ve lost quite a few wagons over the last few years-it just costs so much to haul them,” Haynes said.
On Friday, participants drove their trucks and horse trailers to Council, and a bus took them back to the trailhead in Weiser, where their horses were waiting. FWRT has a number of corrals at the trail head and there are a number of railroad ties that can be used to tether horses. After leaving Weiser, the group rode about 14 miles to a primitive camp along the Weiser River.
On Saturday, they rode to Midvale, where they camped out along the trail in the park. Dinner that evening was catered by Steve and Angie Baumgarner (S&A Catering) and 80 people attended. The directors and former directors and board members attended the dinner, which cost $25 per person. A raffle was held for various horse related items, and this year, for a knife hand crafted by Leonard Messersmith, who was recently elected Director of the FWRT .
On Sunday, the riders made their way to the old Township of Goodrich and arrived in Council on Monday.
Haynes said that breakfast and dinner were provided for the riders by Bob Bunch, who is a former outfitter. He rented the Cambridge 4-H Kitchen for his prep work.
Mike Beavers, one of the FWRT Board of Directors, said this year the weather was nearly perfect. “We had very light showers one night, but it just settled the dust, which was great,” he said.
He and his daughter, Amber Dewey and his ten-year-old grandson Robby Dewey rode together in a surrey that Beavers bought from the Amish. Dollar, his 24-year-old palomino, pulled the three of them and Beavers said that Robby did the driving from Goodrich to Council.
While they did not see rattlesnakes as they have in years past, some of their party saw deer, elk, and a bear during their journey up the canyon. Beaver said that FWRT uses a truck to haul everyone’s camping gear, hay, and portable toilets. Both Beavers and Haynes stressed the importance of a safe and enjoyable event for horses and riders as well.
